Creamline Dairy Products Ltd. filed a suit against RK Ganapathi Chettiar and Arihant Marketings for copyright infringement and passing off related to the sale of ghee, after discovering the alleged infringement in November 2024, with the suit instituted in late February 2025 without prior cease and desist notice or mediation.
The first defendant applied to reject the plaint for non-compliance with Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, which mandates pre-institution mediation unless urgent interim relief is contemplated, arguing the suit lacked urgency and distinguishing the Supreme Court's Novenco judgment on facts involving prior party relations and communications.
The plaintiff countered that Novenco supports viewing IP infringement suits as involving continuing acts, thus inherently contemplating urgency. The court, referencing Yamini Manohar and Novenco, examined the plaint from the plaintiff's perspective, considering the nature of IP actions and public interest, and found no basis to deem the interim relief prayer as camouflage to evade mediation given the suit's filing within four months of discovery, ultimately dismissing the rejection application without costs.
Law Point:
In suits for infringement of intellectual property rights, which involve continuing acts of alleged infringement, it cannot be concluded that the suit does not contemplate urgent interim relief :Para 3.
The question of whether a suit contemplates urgent interim relief, exempting it from mandatory pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, should be decided by the court from the plaintiff's perspective : Para 4-5.
Case Title: Creamline Dairy Products Ltd. Vs. RK Ganapathi Chettiar:08.12.2025: C.S(Comm.Div)No.108 of 2025 : Madras HC:Honourable Mr. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy
[Readers are advised not to treat this as substitute for legal advise as it may contain errors in perception, interpretation, and presentation]
[Written By: Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman, IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney], High Court of Delhi]
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